Collapsable storage container

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a storage container intended for loose stacking and transport of piece goods, e.g. cartons of milk, which has at least three wall members of which one is a front wall and the other two are side walls hingedly connected with at least one of the wall members and collapsable against the same. Said storage container is also convertible from a normal position in which it has essentially the form of a parallelepiped, to a stowing position requiring less space. The invention is mainly characterized in that the side walls are swingable out from their normal positions, in which they form essentially a 90* angle with the front wall, to outer positions appropriate for stowing the container, in which positions said angle is obtuse and in which the internal distance between the rear edges of the side walls is greater than the breadth of the front part of the container. The swinging outward of the side walls is limited at the outer positions by a blocking member, mounted on the side walls or parts connected to the side walls, stopping against the front wall or against parts connected thereto or vice versa.

Hallenius 11] 3,810,648 [451 May 14,1974

1 1 COLLAPSABLE STORAGE CONTAINER [75] Inventor: Nils Ragnar Hallenius,Goteborg,

Sweden [73] Assignee: Innovia LogistikmaskinerAB,

Goteborg, Sweden [22] Filed: June 15, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 263,207

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data June 18, 1971 Sweden 7967/71 [52]U.S. Cl. 280/33-99 R, 220/1.5, 220/4 F, I

. 220/97 C, 280/36 R [51] Int. Cl B621) l/l2, B62b 11/00 [58] FieldofSearch ..280/33.99 R, 33.99 H, M

280/3399 s, 36 R, 36 A, 47.26,43.12; 4 .13. 12 2 1921 [56]ReferencesCited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,738,201 3/1956 Spears 280/3399 H2,762,669 9/1956 Watson 280/3399 R X 3,191 ,959 6/1965 Heimbruch et a1.280/36 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLlCATlONS 1,169,317 1l/l969 Great Britain280/3399 R 1,225,968 9/196] Germany 280/3199 R Primary Examiner-KennethH. Betts Assistant ExaminerDavid M. Mitchell Attorney, Agent, orFirm-Pierce, Scheffler & Parker [5 7] ABSTRACT The present inventionrelates to a storage container intended for loose stacking and transportof piece goods, e.g. cartons of milk, which has at least three wallmembers of which one is a front wall and the other two are side wallshingedly connected with at least one of the wall members and collapsableagainst the same. Said storage container is also convertible from anormal position in which it has essentially the form of aparallelepiped, to a stowing position requiring less space. Theinvention is mainly characterized in that the side walls are swingableout from their normal positions, in which they form essentially a 90angle with the front wall, to outer positions appropriate for stowingthe container, in which positions said angle is obtuse and in which theinternal distance between the rear edges of the side walls is greaterthan the breadth of the front part of the container. The swingingoutward of the side walls is limited at the outer positions by ablocking member, mounted on the side walls or parts connected to theside walls, stopping against the front wall or against parts connectedthereto or vice versa.

12 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEB HAY 1 4 I974 sum: 0r 2 FIG] f hj wPATENTEUMAH 4514 saw 2 OF 2 l CGLLAPSABLE STORAGE CONTAINER The presentinvention relates to a collapsable storage container intended for loosestacking and'transport of piece goods, for example cartons of milkcomprising at least three wall members, one of which is a front wall andthe other two are side walls hingedly connected with the front wall, anda bottom member hingedly connected with at least one of the wall membersand collapsable against the same, said storage container beingconvertible from a normal position, in which it essentially has theshape of a parallelepiped, to a stowing position requiring less space.

.Storage containers of the type disclosed are previously known. They areconstructed with the intention that they shall have, in their normalposition, the shape of a parallelepiped for the purpose of loosestacking and at the same time that they shall take up, in their stowingposition, the minimum possible space when kept in storage rooms. Theyhave, however, either the disadvantage that their conversion from thenormal position to the stowing position and/or vice versa is complicatedand time-consuming or that the volume in the vstowing position has onlybeen reduced to a very small extent. For the sake of completeness, itshould also be added that a storage container with essentiallyparallelepipedic shape is intended, since even relatively smalldeviations from this shape reduce the utility of the storage container.

The object of the present invention is to avoid the disadvantagesmentioned in previously known storage containers of the type described.This is done by giving instructions for the construction of a storagecontainer, which construction. combines the parallelepipedic shape,ideal for loose stacking, with small volume after being collapsed.Another object is to construct the storage'container so that it iseasily collapsed as well as set up again for use.

A collapsable storage container of the type disclosed is characterizedaccording tothe invention in that the side walls are swingable out fromtheir normal positions, in which they form essentially a 90 angle withthe front wall, to outer positions appropriate for stowing thecontainer, in which said angle is obtuse and in which the internaldistance between the rear edges of the side walls is greater than thewidth of the front part of the container. The swinging outward of theside walls to their outer positions is then limited by a blockingmember, mounted on the side wallsor parts connected to the side walls,stopping against the front wall or against parts connected to it or viceversa.

Further characteristic features of a storage container according to theinvention are evidentfrom the following claims.

Further advantages of a storage container according to the inventionandother embodiments of the same are described in more detail below withreference to the enclosed drawings.

FIG. lshows a side view of a preferred embodiment of the storagecontainer according to the invention,.

FIG. 2 shows a part of an end view viewed from behind of the storagecontainer in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a view from above of the same storage container,

FIG. 4shows aview from above of'two collapsed storage containerstelescoped into each other and FIG. 5 is an enlarged detail view of thecomer of FIG. 4 indicated by a dash-and-dot circle, in which some of thedetails are shown in cross-section for increased clarity.

FIGS. 1,2 and 3 show the'storage container designated in its entirety bythe numeral 1 in its normal position, i.e. ready for use in loosestacking of the piece goods, which in this case consist of cartons ofmilk, as a storage place for the goods at a retail store, etc.

With special reference to the three Figures, the numeral 2 designatesthe two sides of the storage container, 3 the front wall and 4 the backwall. The bottom member is designated by the number 5. Each one of thewalls 2, 3 and 4 and the bottom member 5, is presented in the Figures asan undivided unit. However, it is conceivable that one or more of thesemembers can be constructed of several parts. It is also conceivable thatone or more of the walls, for example the front wall 3, could consistonly of a frame, which may be closed and essentially have the shape of arectangle or be open and then have the shape of a U. However, it isessential that the members 2-5 give the storage container the shape of aparallelepiped when it is in its normal position. This shape ensures asafe storage place for the loosely stacked cartons of milk.

The side walls 2 are flexibly connected by means of .a hinge 6 or thelike with the front wall 3. In the embodiment shown in the Figures therear wall 4 is also flexibly connected by means of a hinge or the likewith the left side wall 2, the rear wall is alternatively connectablewith the right side wall or with the bottom member 5; The bottom member5 is in turn flexibly connected with one of the walls and in the exampleshown in the Figures, with the frontwall 3. This connection can be madeby meansof the hinges 8, shown in the Figures, or by another similarmeans.

The bottom member 5 has on its outer edges 9 facing the side wallstriangle-shaped knobs 10 withoblique stop faces I]. These knobs canconceivably be constructed differently than as shown in the Figures andalso be placed differently. However, they must be constructed in such away that they force the side walls 2 to swing outward from the inside ofthe storage container just before the bottom member is completely foldedup against the front wall 3. As is most clearly evident from FIG. 5,this occurs in the illustrated exam ple, by the oblique stop'face 11 onthe knob 10 pushing the part 12 of the side wall 2 outward.

On the front edge 13 of each side wall 2 there is also, according toFIG. 4, a rigidly mounted arm 14, which is bent at an angle towards theinside of the storage container. This arm is so constructed that withslight pressure it makes contact with the front wall 3 when the storagecontainer is in its normal position. Accordingly, in this position thearms serve to make the storage container more rigid. These arms 14, inthe collapsing of the storage container, also have the importantfunction of contributing to the stabilization of the side walls. Thiswill be dealt with in more detail below.

As is most clearly shown in FIGS. 1-3, the storage container accordingto the invention is also provided with means 16 designed to facilitatemoving the storage container. The Figures show wheels attached to theside walls 2 and mounted in wheel housings.

In spite of the fact that the storage container 1 according to theinvention has the shape, ideal for its use, of a parallelepiped, itrequires a minimum of space when moved empty, when kept in storage etc.The reason for this is that it is'quickly and easily collapsable to ashape which is extremely well suited for this purpose. Viewed fromabove, this shape can be most clearly characterized as a trapezoid, inwhich the longer of the two parallel sides is missing. This shape isillustrated in FIG. 4, where two collapsed storage containers, viewedfrom above, are telescoped into each other.

A collapsing of this sort is performed in the example shown in theFigures by folding the rear wall 4 against the side wall 2, with whichit is hingedly connected, and by subsequently folding up the bottommember 5 against the front wall 3. Just before the folding up of thebottom member is completed, the oblique stop faces 11 of the knobs 10,as was touched upon earlier, press against the part 12 of the sidewalls, thereby forcing the walls 2 to uniformly swing outwards from thepositions which they assume when the storage container is in the normalposition. As the side walls 2 swing outwards, the arms 14 follow in theswinging motion, so that the free ends of the arms move backwards,toward the inside of the storage container. During this movement thearms 14 touch the bottom member 5 in the final stage of the folding upmovement. When the members 5 and 14 come into contact with each othertheir movement is halted, as well as the swinging movement of the sidewalls 2 rigidly attached to the arms. Two opposing and mutuallycounterbalancing torques hereby fix the side walls at an obtuse anglerelative to the front wall 3, by locking the bottom member 5 to thefront wall by means of a hook or by another appropriate means.

What is claimed is:

1. Storage container for loose stacking and transport of piece goodssuch as cartons of milk, said container having at least three wallmembers, one of which being a front wall and two of which being sidewalls hingedly connected to the front wall, and a bottom member hingedlyconnected to at least one of the wall members and being collapsibleagainst said wall member, said container being convertible from aworking condition giving said container essentially the form of aparallelepiped to a stowing condition giving said containers aspace-saving form when stowed in a group together with other containersof the same kind, said side walls being swingable outwards at an acuteangle from parallel positions in said working condition to outerpositions in said stowing condition, blocking members being connected tosaid side walls limiting the swinging movement of said side walls bystopping against parts connected to said front wall.

2. Storage container as defined in claim 1, wherein said bottom memberis foldable against the wall to which it is hingedly connected when saidcontainer is in said stowing condition.

3. Storage container as defined in claim 2, wherein said bottom memberis hingedly connected to said front wall, the side edges of said bottommember each being provided with a guide means having an oblique guidesurface facing the adjacent one of said side walls, said guide surfacestriking against a part connected to the adjacent side wall when saidbottom member is in the final stage of a folding-up motion against saidfront wall, said guide surfaces thereby forcing said side walls to swingoutwards to said outer positions.

4. Storage container as defined in claim 3, wherein said bottom memberis spaced horizontally a short distance from said front wall when saidcontainer is in said stowing condition, said blocking members being bentarms rigidly mounted on the front edges of said side walls.

5. Storage container according to claim 4, characterized in that saidblocking members comprise arms bent at an angle and rigidly mounted onthe front edges of the side walls, which arms, in the normal position,make the container more rigid by pressing against the inside of thefront wall and which swing in towards the interior of the container whenthe side walls swing outward and which stop against the folded-up bottommember, in the final stage of the collapsing of the container to thestowing position, thereby stabilizing the side walls in their outerpositions.

6. Storage container as defined in claim 4, wherein means for movingsaid container are attached to said side walls.

7. Storage container as defined in claim 2, wherein said bottom memberis hingedly connected to said front wall, said side walls each beingprovided with a guide means on an inner fore part of the wall, saidguide means having an oblique guide surface facing said bottom memberwhen being in a final stage of a folding-up motion against said frontwall, said bottom member having parts connected to said member strikingagainst said guide surfaces in said final stage of said folding motion,said parts connected to said bottom member thereby forcing said sidewalls to swing outwards to said outer positions.

8. Storage container intended for loose stacking and transport of piecegoods such as cartons of milk, said container having four wall membersand one bottom member, one of said wall members being a front wall, twowall members being side walls and one being a rear wall, said side wallsbeing hingedly connected to said front wall, said bottom member and saidrear wall being hingedly connected to at least one of said other fourmembers, said container being convertible from a working conditiongiving said container essentially the form of a parallelepiped to astowing condition giving said container a space-saving form when stowedin a group together with other containers of the same kind, said sidewalls being swingable outwards at an acute angle from parallel positionsin said working condition to outer positions in said stowing condition,blocking members being connected to said side walls limiting theswinging movement of said side walls by stopping against parts connectedto said front wall.

9. Storage container as defined in claim 8, wherein said bottom memberand said rear wall are hingedly connected to one of said side walls andcollapsible against thesame wall.

10. Storage container as defined in claim 8, wherein said bottom memberand said rear wall are hingedly connected to one each of said side wallsand collapsible against the same wall.

11. Storage container as defined in claim 8, wherein said bottom memberis hingedly connected to said front wall and collapsible against thesame wall, said rear wall being hingedly connected to one of said sidewalls and collapsible against the same wall.

12. Storage container as defined in claim 8, wherein said bottom memberis hingedly connected to said front wall and collapsible against thesame wall, said rear wall being hingedly connected to said bottom memberand collapsible against said bottom member.

1. Storage container for loose stacking and transport of piece goodssuch as cartons of milk, said container having at least three wallmembers, one of which being a front wall and two of which being sidewalls hingedly connected to the front wall, and a bottom member hingedlyconnected to at least one of the wall members and being collapsibleagainst said wall member, said container being convertible from aworking condition giving said container essentially the form of aparallelepiped to a stowing condition giving said containers aspace-saving form when stowed in a group together with other containersof the same kind, said side walls being swingable outwards at an acuteangle from parallel positions in said working condition to outerpositions in said stowing condition, blocking members being connected tosaid side walls limiting the swinging movement of said side walls bystopping against parts connected to said front wall.
 2. Storagecontainer as defined in claim 1, wherein said bottom member is foldableagainst the wall to which it is hingedly connected when said containeris in said stowing condition.
 3. Storage container as defined in claim2, wherein said bottom member is hingedly connected to said front wall,the side edges of said bottom member each being provided with a guidemeans having an oblique guide surface facing the adjacent one of saidside walls, said guide surface striking against a part connected to theadjacent side wall when said bottom member is in the final stage of afolding-up motion against said front wall, said guide surfaces therebyforcing said side walls to swing outwards to Said outer positions. 4.Storage container as defined in claim 3, wherein said bottom member isspaced horizontally a short distance from said front wall when saidcontainer is in said stowing condition, said blocking members being bentarms rigidly mounted on the front edges of said side walls.
 5. Storagecontainer according to claim 4, characterized in that said blockingmembers comprise arms bent at an angle and rigidly mounted on the frontedges of the side walls, which arms, in the normal position, make thecontainer more rigid by pressing against the inside of the front walland which swing in towards the interior of the container when the sidewalls swing outward and which stop against the folded-up bottom member,in the final stage of the collapsing of the container to the stowingposition, thereby stabilizing the side walls in their outer positions.6. Storage container as defined in claim 4, wherein means for movingsaid container are attached to said side walls.
 7. Storage container asdefined in claim 2, wherein said bottom member is hingedly connected tosaid front wall, said side walls each being provided with a guide meanson an inner fore part of the wall, said guide means having an obliqueguide surface facing said bottom member when being in a final stage of afolding-up motion against said front wall, said bottom member havingparts connected to said member striking against said guide surfaces insaid final stage of said folding motion, said parts connected to saidbottom member thereby forcing said side walls to swing outwards to saidouter positions.
 8. Storage container intended for loose stacking andtransport of piece goods such as cartons of milk, said container havingfour wall members and one bottom member, one of said wall members beinga front wall, two wall members being side walls and one being a rearwall, said side walls being hingedly connected to said front wall, saidbottom member and said rear wall being hingedly connected to at leastone of said other four members, said container being convertible from aworking condition giving said container essentially the form of aparallelepiped to a stowing condition giving said container aspace-saving form when stowed in a group together with other containersof the same kind, said side walls being swingable outwards at an acuteangle from parallel positions in said working condition to outerpositions in said stowing condition, blocking members being connected tosaid side walls limiting the swinging movement of said side walls bystopping against parts connected to said front wall.
 9. Storagecontainer as defined in claim 8, wherein said bottom member and saidrear wall are hingedly connected to one of said side walls andcollapsible against the same wall.
 10. Storage container as defined inclaim 8, wherein said bottom member and said rear wall are hingedlyconnected to one each of said side walls and collapsible against thesame wall.
 11. Storage container as defined in claim 8, wherein saidbottom member is hingedly connected to said front wall and collapsibleagainst the same wall, said rear wall being hingedly connected to one ofsaid side walls and collapsible against the same wall.
 12. Storagecontainer as defined in claim 8, wherein said bottom member is hingedlyconnected to said front wall and collapsible against the same wall, saidrear wall being hingedly connected to said bottom member and collapsibleagainst said bottom member.